Press Release: SOLVIT: Single Market problem-solving network sees 75% growth in case volume in 2007

A Spanish student wanted to start her university studies in Belgium, but was refused because the original certified diploma of her secondary education had not been issued yet by the Spanish authorities. SOLVIT persuaded the university to accept other evidence so that she would not miss an entire academic year. A British manufacturer of marine radio equipment was asked by the German authorities to retest its products in Germany even though they had already been tested and placed on the market in other EU Member States. SOLVIT intervened to ensure that the products could be sold in Germany without costly retesting. These are only two examples of the hundreds of problems that SOLVIT managed to solve for citizens and businesses in 2007. Last year, the EU's SOLVIT network handled 819 problems encountered by citizens and businesses in exercising their Single Market rights, of which 679 (83%) were solved. In the fifth year of its existence, SOLVIT saw a growth in case volume of 75% compared with 2006 and managed to keep resolution rates high and case handling times short. These figures are set out in the European Commission's annual SOLVIT report, which concluded that 2007 has been another successful year for SOLVIT, but also noted that staffing problems persist in several national SOLVIT centres. Several Member States are still not providing adequate resources to SOLVIT centres to allow them to engage in awareness-raising activities.